Edmonton Oilers’ head coach Kris Knoblauch issued a Coach’s Challenge for goaltender interference after Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett crashed in to Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner on the game-tying goal in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Edmonton lost the challenge and received a delay of game penalty, putting them shorthanded. Florida’s Brad Marchand scored on the ensuing power play to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. 
 

“I would challenge that any day,” Knoblauch said after the game “I was on the bench and I was even looking at it again. I was getting ready for the next lines, and I see the player fall in. I was told [by the officials] he was tripped.”

So, was this a good challenge?  And was this the right call?

There’s no question there’s contact between Bennett and the goaltender. What the officials and the league’s Situation Room needed to determine is how he got there.

From Rule 69:

“If an attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player so as to cause him to come into contact with the goalkeeper, such contact will not be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.”

Clearly, Bennett didn’t make any sort of a reasonable effort to avoid contact. 

“I didn’t really get a good look at it, but I knew that I didn’t just fall,” said Bennett. “There was contact… those can go either way.”

Defenseman Brett Kulak’s skate does make contact with Bennett’s right leg, tripping him up on the play.  While Kulak was certainly battling for position, it didn’t appear to be an intentional trip, and more like incidental contact on the play.  This may not have even been enough to justify a tripping penalty. From Rule 57:

“A minor penalty shall be imposed on any player who shall place his stick or any portion of his body in such a manner that it shall cause his opponent to trip and fall.”

Did Kulak put his leg out to trip Bennett or did their skates just get tangled up during the battle in front?

Honestly, it doesn’t matter as far as the goal review. The bar for goaltender interference is lower than it is for a tripping penalty. A defensive player doesn’t have to commit an infraction worthy of a penalty to have caused contact. As above from Rule 69, the attacking player must have been “pushed, shoved, or fouled” — the first two of which are clearly legal and would not result in a penalty.

It’s really hard to tell — but even harder for Edmonton Oilers video coach Noah Segall, who only had about a minute to decide whether or not to challenge the call on the ice.

Bennett’s driving to the net. He may have ended up in the blue paint even without the contact. The problem is that the bump from Kulak – however unintentional or incidental – creates the possibility that the defender was responsible for the contact. 

That’s what the NHL’s Situation Room – operating on-site in Edmonton – was tasked with determining. They felt Kulak – intentionally or not – was responsible.

“If that play happened again I would challenge it,” Knoblauch said. “What I’ve seen in the NHL this year on the challenges for goaltender interference, I had a lot of confidence and would challenge that again.”

Our call?  We would not have challenged this play… but we understand why he would.

As far as the review, we would have ruled it incidental contact and found that the skate contact failed to meet the criteria for a push or shove by a defending player and that Bennett’s movement prior to the contact caused him to fall into the goaltender, resulting in goaltender Stuart Skinner not being able to play his position. From Rule 69.1:

“Goals should be disallowed … if … an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal…”

But, as we said, this was a close one. 

 

Thankfully for the Oilers – and Noah Segall – Edmonton went on to win Game 1 in overtime 4-3. Referees for the game were Wes McCauley (#4) and Francis Charron (#6); linespersons were Scott Cherrey (#50) and Trent Knorr (#74).